Three temperature mixing valve



April 4, 1961 J. s. AMNEus 2,978,182

THREE TEMPERATURE MIXING vALvE Filed Oct. 5, 1957 2,978,182 THREETEMPERATURE MIXING VALVE John Sigfrid Amneus, Grosse Pointe Woods,lMich., asslgnor to ,AmericanRadiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation,New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed oct. s, 1951, ser.V No.687,956 s claims. :(cl. 236-12) This invention relates to -a valve formixing hot and cold fluids, as for examplein the supply line to the tubof an automatic clothes washing machine.

Objectsk of the invention are to provide a mixing valve wherein:

1) the valve is electrically `regulated to selectively deliver extremelycold liuid, extremely hot iluidor an intermediate temperature iiuid,

v(2) the above` mentioned outlet lfluid temperatures are obtained inavalve employing only two diaphragmsolenoid assemblies, it beingappreciated that with many fice , 18.V As long as the solenoid isde-energzed there is no priorart mixing devices extremely high outlettempera- Y tures and extremely low outlet temperatures could only beyattained by using three separate diaphragm-solenoid assemblies. e

` Other'objects of this invention will appear in the followingdescriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part rof this specilication wherein like `referencecharacters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

,In the drawing:

,The figure s'a sectional View through one embodiment `0f. theinvention. v

" ,j Before explaining the present invention in detail, itis to beunderstood that `the.invention is not limited in its application tothedetails of construction and arrangementof parts illustrated ,in theaccompanying drawing,

fluid flow from annular passage 16 into passage 17.

Housing section 12 provides a threaded hot fluid inlet coupling section25 which communicates with an annular passage 16 concentricallysurrounding a passage section 17'. Flow of hot fluid from passage 16into passage section 17 is controlled by la solenoid-diaphragm assemblyhaving a structure. and action similar to that of the previouslydescribed solenoid-diaphragm Ymeans 23, 19; accordingly similar primedreference numerals are employed wherever applicable;V e J Passage 17leads into. a cold iluid inlet passage v26, and passage 17 leads into ahot uid inlet passage 27. Flow ducts 28 and 29 interconnect passages 26and 27 so "as to allow fluid ow therebetween when one or the other of,solenoids 23 and 23 are de-energized. vA spherical check valve element30"islocated in duct 27, and is biased to' a position closing the'ductby a compression spring 31. Anothei spherical check valve element 32.ispositioned in duct 29, and is biased to avposi- 19 is closed the coldfluid in passage 26 unseats element 30 soas `to permit coldluid flowinto passage Y2'7".

The abovedescribed actions canonly. take place 4after the '.thermostaticoperation of av cylindrical slide valve V35 which is mounted for axialmovement in'a cylindrical i mixingchambere. Flow of cold fluid intochamber 36 takes place through an annular passage 37, and flow of hotiiuidinto chamber 36 takes place through an annular passage 38. A

VValve 3:5 engages the piston 39 of a conventional i thermostatic powerelementv40. Element 40 may be of since the inventionis lcapablefof otherembodimentsand of being practiced or rcarried, out in various ways.Also, `itis to be understood 'that the phraseolog'y orterminologyemployed herein'islfor thempurposeepof`description and notofelimitatton.

.Inthe drawing there isfA shown aV mixing valve 10 com pris-ing twohousing 'sectionsill'and 1.2,k bolted] together by b lt means (notshown) and having a sealingflgasket tioned al rubber diaphragm 19. Thisdiaphragrriis` provided with a bleed openingfZO and a central opening21,v

which registers "with the plunger-armature 22,A of'a sole- 110123- t vThe* arrangement lof parts is such'that'whensolenoid various forms, as`for example -that `shown inv Vernet` Patent 2,636,776 issued April 428,1953.V

Element 4tlg-is seated on` an aperturedsupportstructure piston- 39 movesdownwardly it forces valve35vtoward f a position" closing annularpassage 38'and opening anfular passage V37', thereby.regulating theiiuid tempera-v ture inspigotlii.Vv at a'valeintermediate that of thecold and 'hot Jfluids hsupplied through passages 17 and 17,. Y. Y n .7

spherical element 30 than the hot 4fluid pressure; ccnsequently the coldfluid frompassage 17 will iiow through V23 is` energizedarmature22 isdrawn `away fromopent ing 21 so'as to `perniit thepressure ,ofy fluidfinannular l passagel to `force the diaphragm away 4,from valve surface`18; whereby` toallow flow ffcold fluid into passage 17; y p 4 f, I Y

When solenoid 23 is de-energized a spring (not shown) in the outerend-fof,l guide siem/e624 forcesplunger 22 Ato close, opening 121.airesult the. fluidin .annular e vpassage `16 flows through "bleed'opening`l20`so' as to deu-i 'velopa'iiuid pressure on the' outerface'of theltdia'phragm .l 4 :and thereby force V:said diaphragm againstvalvesurface passage 26 and 'into -rnixing chamber 36`via annular pas-`2'sageV4 V37. This action will cause the power elementpellet to contractsoiasto allow spring45'to force valve'fele,v menti35- to Aa"`positionclosingpassage 37. "Thereupon the iiuidpressure iripassage 26 willvbuild up` sufficiently `4'cold liufid 'tofiiow throughduct 28, intopassages 27 and `the temperature 'ofthe enteringl cold uid, q Similarly,when Ysolenoid 23 is" dei-energized and fsole-f;

noid 23 is 'energized the iiuid through spigot' 43 will be rat thetemperature of thefente'ring liotfluid. Inthis situ ationlthe{hotiiuidythrough`passage-38 warnisigthef-powei YWith solenoid energized(so as 'to' open passage 517]) andlfsol'enoid ayude-energized (so astoclosepasjsage 1.7' )"tl1e.A cold-uidpressure Twill be greater 'onelement pellet so" as to cause movement of valve element 35 to aposition closing passage 38. As a result the pressure in passage 27builds up so as to unseat spherical element 32 and thereby allow hotfluid to flow through duct 29`into passages 26 and 37, and eventuallyout through spigot 43.

The ability of the valve to deliver extremely hot fluid (correspondingto the temperature of fluid supplied to coupling 25) as well asextremely cold fluid (corresponding to the temperature of fluid suppliedto coupling 14) makes the valve adaptable for use in many applicationsnot heretofore possible with conventional two solenoid mixing valves. Inthe conventional two solenoid mixing valves it is not possible to.deliver extremely hot fluid and extremely cold fluid with the same valvestructure. ACorrventionally a three solenoid construction is required todeliver extremely cold fluid and extremely hot fluid. Such threesolenoid constructions are more costly than the present construction.

I claim:A Y

l. A mixing valve comprising a housing formed with a mixing chamber;separate hot `and cold fluid inlet passages leading to said mixingchamber; valve means in said mixing chamber for alternately opening saidcharnber to respective ones of the, hot and cold fluid passages;thermostatic power means responsive to the fluid temperature in themixing chamber for operating the valve means to open the cold fluidpassage on temperature increase and open the hot fluid passage ontemperature decrease; conduit means interconnecting said hot fluidpassage with said coldl fluid passage upstream from Ythe mixlingchamber; pressure responsive valve structure in said ,conduit meansallowing flow from the hot vfluidpassage to the cold fluid passage whenthe supply of cold fluid is cut ofi; and a second pressure responsivevalve structure in said conduit means allowing flow from the cold fluidpassage to the hotfluid passage when the supply of hot fluid is cut off;a rst shut-off structure carried by the housing and independent of theaforementioned valve structuresfor controlling flow into the Vhotinletpassage; and a second shut-olf structure carried by tlie housinglandindependent of the aforementioned valve structures-'for controlling flowinto the cold 4fluid passage.

2. The combination of cla1m l wherein the conduit means takes the formof two separate flow ducts,veach individually extending between the hotfluid passage and coldlluid passage; one of said pressure responsivevalve structures beingA located in one duct, and the otherpressureresponsive valve structure being located in the other duct. l

3. A mixing valve comprising a housing 4formed with a cylindricalmixing-chamber; first and second annular passages concentric with Asaid.mixingchambe'r and located at axially spaced points therealongyarhotfluid inlet passage formed in the housing and communicating with the:first annular passage; ,a cold fluid inlet passage formed Ain thehousing and communicatingwith the second annu- ,lar passage; a separateshut-off structure controlling the .flow of fluid into eachjinletpassage; a cylindricalI valve member slidably positioned-in the mixingchamber and ,having its opposite ends located adjacent respective ones Yvof'the annular 4passages; therrnostatie power means -re-y lsponsivetothe' fluid temperature in the mixing chamber for operating thecylindrical valve member to open the Ysecond annular passage ontemperature increase and opent the first annular-passage` on temperaturedecrease; conduit means interconnecting said hot fluid passage with saidcold fluid passage upstream from the mixing chamber; 'resiliently urgedpressure responsive checkvalve structure in said conduit means: allowingflow from the hot fluid -r passage to thecold fluid-,passage when thesupply of .cold fluid is cut; o iyand a Ysecondresiliently-urged pressurejl responsive. eelsvalve' s t r;1 1c ture insaid conduit meansallowing 'flowfrom thecold vfluid passage .to the hoffifluidtpassagewhenthesupply of hotvlluid iscutfof.

,4 4. A mixing valve comprising a housing formed with a cylindricalmixing chamber; first and second annular passages concentric with s faidmixing chamber and located at axially spaced points therealong; a hotfluid inlet 5 passage formed in the housing and communicating with thefirst annular passage; a diaphragm positioned on the housing to haltflow into. the hot fluid passage; solenoid means for controlling theposition of said diaphragm; a cold fluid inlet passage formed in thehousing arid communicating with the second annular passage; a diaphragmpositioned on the housing to halt flow into the cold fluid passage;solenoid 'means for controlling the position of the second diaphragm; acylindrical valve member slidably positioned in the mixing chamber andhaving its opposite ends locatedadjacent respective ones of the annularpassages; thermostatic power means responsive to the fluid temperaturein the mixing chamber for operating the cylindrical valve member to openthe secondv annular passage on temperature increase and open the firstannular passage on temperature decrease; two separate conduitsinterconnecting saidy hot fluid passage with said cold fluidl passageupstream from the mixing chamber; pressure responsive check valvestructure in one of s aid conduits allowing flow from the h ot fluidpassage to the cold fluid passage when the second diaphragm is closed;and a second pressure responsive check valve structure in the other ofsaid conduits allowing llo'w from the cold fluid passage to the hotfluid passage when the first diaphragm is closed. 5. A mixing valvecomprising a housing formed with ya mixing chamber; separate hot andcold fluid inlet passages leading to said mixing chamber; a separateshut-off structure controlling the flow of fluid into each inletpassage; valve means and thermostatic power means operatively connectedtherewith in said mixing chamber for alternately openingl said chamberto respective ones of the hot and cold fluid'v passages so as to' obtaina substantially constant mixing 'chamber temperature when both inletpassages are supplied with fluid; conduit means interconnecting theinlet -fluid passages upstream from the mixing chamber; resilientlyurged check valve'A mechanism in said conduitmeans including two checkvalve elements, one of said elements being resiliently urged to closeagainst flow from the hot passage into the cold passage and the other ofsaid elements being resiliently urged to close against flow from thecold passage into the hot passage..

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the conduit .means takesv the formof two separate flow ducts', each individually extending between theinlet fluid passages; said one check valve element being located in oneduct, and said other check valve element being located in the otherduct. f.f 7.`AY mixing valve comprising a housing defining a mixingchamber and separate inlet passages for supplying ,hot and'eldtemperature fluids to said mixing chamber; la separate shut-offstructiire controlling the flow' of fluid into each inlet passage; valvemeans and thermostatic power mea-ns operatively connected therewith formetering theV relative amounts of the different temperature fluids intothe mixing chamber so as to obtain a substan- V" tially constantmixingchamber temperature whenboth inlet passages are supplied withfluid; conduit means interconnecting the two inlet passages upstreamfrom the mixing chamber; a first' check valve means to permit flow offluid under fluid pressure from Vthe cold to the'hot passages when theshut-ofi structure in the hot 'inlet passage isclosed', a secondcheckvalve means to permit flow of fluidsunder fluid pressure from the hotto'the cold passageswhen the shut-ofi structure in the cold inletpassage l'ti y is closed. e

8. A mixingvalve comprising adjacently positioned housing membersdefining'colcland` liot'watery inlet-'pas- -sages, vselectivelyoperable'fluid pressure actuated valves controlling' the flowv of coldand hot waterthrough said Y P55 .inlet passages, a mixing-chamber'communicating with said hot and cold water inlet passages, valve meansin the mixing chamber controlling-the ilow of water into the mixingchamber from the cold and hot water inlet passages, temperatureresponsive means positioned in the mixing chamber to control theposition of the valve means in accordance with the temperature in themixing chamber, a conduit connecting the cold water inlet passage withthe hot water inlet passage anterior to the valve means, a rst checkvalve in said conduit to permit flow of cold water from the cold waterinlet passage to the hot water inlet passage when cold` water is owingthrough the cold water inlet passage and the ow of water through the hotwater inlet passage is interrupted, a conduit interconnecting the hotwater inlet passage with the cold water inlet passage anterior to thevalve means, and a second check valve in said last-named conduit topermit flow of hot water from the hot water inlet passage to the coldwater inlet passage when hot water is owing through the hot water inletpassage and the ow of water through the cold water inlet passage isinterrupted.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

